TracFone Wireless
Reviews and Complaints

On May 19, 2021, online, I ordered a new phone. The order was processed on 5/20 (order #[protected]) and my VISA payment posted on 5/23/21. I expected delivery on 5/24 or 5/25 (FedEx #[protected]), but the package was "returned to shipper" according to FedEx, per Tracfone's request. That tracking number was # [protected]. Package/phone was received and signed for on 5/28/21 at 9:13am by R. Rey. I have spent over six (6) hours on the phone, trying to remedy this situation. You have my money and I do NOT have the phone. Customer Service has transferred me to refunds and I get a different person and a different story (promise) every time. "Roland" said I should have my phone prior to 6/3/21. and more recently 6/9/21 someone named "Apple" claimed that I should be receiving my refund any day. She claimed it was requested on 5/28/21 when the phone was returned. I have nothing by empty promises. I am a very unhappy long-term/faithful customer who getting ready to switch. Poor customer service.

Some reSin my ohonenumber new Samsung tracphone by the way!is the same if a mideastern financial investor "Mahoud b" getting endkes phone calls texts re MAHOUD!TRIED TO COMPLAIN TO TRACPHONE FCC. STILLGETTING OHONE CALLS TEXTS TRACPHONE WON'T STOP SAME! How can I end this? Thank you!

On Feb. 19, 2021, I went On-Line to Add Minutes to my Alcatel 392G Tracfone, as I have done many times over the years I've had a Tracfone. However, after the Minutes were not uploaded to my phone, I made several calls to Tracfone Customer Service and, thru a Chat conference, I was told someone would call me within 15 minutes. This happened at least 3 times with No Return Call. after 3 days, I finally talked with a "Live" Representative who informed me that they could not Upload those minutes I ordered, to my phone, as my Phone was too Old. I, Immediately, contacted my Credit Card Company and disputed the Charge. Tracfone, subsequently, shut off my Phone Service, completely. When I called Tracfone, again, I was informed that even though they could not Provide the Minutes/Service I had asked for, that in order for Tracfone to Turn my Phone back on, I would have to pay the Money I had Disputed, even though I would not get the Minutes I ordered. I was forced to go to a Different Carrier and Tracfone would not Port my Cell# to my New Phone. Now, if anyone calls my Old Cell# at Tracfone, it says "The Person you are trying to reach is not taking calls at this time". They refuse to Disassociate my Old Cell# with my Name and said that Message would Remain. This is Fraud and Extortion! How do I Resolve this Situation!

May 9th purchased one Samsung galaxy A21 S215 DL for $149.00 (saved $120.00) for my daughter in Mo. also one 30 day plan, total cost $170.05. She received on May 11th the wrong phone (Samsung A11 which is not what I ordered) Had to go thru hell to try and exchange phones to no avail. So she is returning it back and I will get my refund. Customer service seems to have their hands tied as to what department handles problem's.

I purchased a new phone on May 4 on their website. Normally I would have purchased in person but it offered 2 day shipping through FedEx. Today is the 7th of May and my order has not came. I checked with FedEx and it says tomorrow. I contacted Tracfone customer support and she said all online orders take 3 to 5 business days. Then why did the site advertise 2 day shipping? So 3 days after ordering all I have is an apology.
I would not have placed this order if I had known it would take more than 3 days.

Concerning Ref. No. [protected], phone number [protected]...my 1 month old phone failed and was retuned to you. You replaced it with a non-flip phone option that will not meet my needs. I have a specific application that requires a flip phone. I MUST HAVE A FLIP PHONE.

Your people have affirmed they will not provide a flip phone for me and I must keep what you sent even though it does not satisfy my needs, nor will you return my broken flip phone so I can return it to the retailer.

I am a >10 yr. customer and think you should provide a satisfactory redemtion to a regular customer...I will loose my phone, my minutes and my number - my only alternative to seek service elsewhere.

Mark Marino

Purchased mins. and data over an hour ago and they still haven't been added to my phone. It has never taken this long to be added to my phone. would like this problem resolved as soon as possible.
Verlana Rankins
April 6, 2021

I purchased 360 minutes for phone#[protected]. This person is 97 years old and lives in a nursing home. This is our only way to communicate with her due to the pandemic since the nursing home is not allowing visitors. Evidently the minutes have expired and customer service said they could not extend the expiration date. I asked to speak to a supervisor and then a manager. When I requested to be transferred to the United States customer service they refused. I request that this complaint be reviewed and that the expiration date be extended.

Good Afternoon!

As requested, I have enclosed is a copy of the Email String with Walmart, explaining the Situation involving the Trac Phone Activation Problem we are experiencing, thru a purchase with Walmart On Line . The Trac Phone representative I spoke to today was Christine.

This was the alleged refund from Walmart - However, there was never any refund - her bank account was charged the same amount in both November 2020 and March 2021 for both phones. This was the message sent from my wife's phone.
Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7.

-------- Original message --------
From: "Walmart.com"
Date: 3/19/21 6:38 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: [protected]@gmail.com
Subject: Important information about your Walmart replacement order

Walmart homepage
Help Center Your Account
Status update!
We've canceled your replacement.
Hello Lori,

We've already processed the replacement order for the items listed below. Hopefully you've already received the replacement order.

Unfortunately, the time window to return the original items has expired, and we haven't received these items at our return center. In accordance with the terms of the Return Agreement, we'll charge your original method of payment for the amount of the replacement order.

Please take a moment to review the details of your refund below.

If you have any questions, please visit our Help Center. Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is unmonitored.
Order number: [protected]
Order date: Thu, Nov 19, 2020

Sincerely,
-Your Walmart Customer Care Team
Items for replacement
Item Qty Total
Tracfone LG Journey, 16GB Black - Prepaid Smartphone
Price$39.88 1 $39.88
Replacement summary
Item total: $39.88
Total tax: $3.49
Total refund $43.37
loriann558
To:Robert Alley

Fri, Mar 26 at 12:11 PM

Copies of Phone Package with Bar Codes,

Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7.

Download all attachments as a zip file

[protected]_120608.jpg
1.9MB

[protected]_120633.jpg
2.6MB

Bar Code # [protected]

[protected]

Robert & Lori Alley
558 Ontario Street
Buffalo NY 14207
Landline Phone # [protected]
Email: [protected]@verizon.net

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Walmart Customer Care
To: "[protected]@verizon.net"
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2021, 08:57:47 PM EDT
Subject: [Store Experience]

Image

Recently you requested personal assistance from Walmart.com Customer Care.

Below is our response and a summary of your request.

Reference#: [protected]
Response email (03/22/2021 07:57 PM)
Hi Lori,

Thank you for contacting Walmart Customer Care. My name is Amber and I work with China. I am happy to assist you today. I sincerely apologize that both phones that you ordered are giving you issues being activated. We can certainly understand how frustrating this can be.

I have reviewed both the original order and the replacement order and I see that the original order [protected] was in fact shipped without being activated by mistake. Our Homeoffice sent an email to you on 01/22/2021 notifying you that you could contact the phone vendor (TracFone) at [protected] to activate the phone. However, from my understanding, TracFone was unable to assist. We then sent you a replacement and that phone did not work either. If you would like to return the phones we can assist you with the return process. Please reply to this email and let us know if you would like to return one or both phones and we will assist you further. If you would prefer to wait and hear back from the management team within 24-72 business hours, you are welcome to do that as well. Thank you for helping us help you. We look forward to your reply with your decision.

You may also be able to access the information you need at Walmart.com or on the Walmart app in the Your Account section. If you have additional questions, please reply to this email and we'll be happy to assist.

Sincerely,

Amber J

Walmart.com Customer Care

Customer email (03/22/2021 04:44 PM)
Maybe I should just give up and send the phone back - This is ridiculous.

Bob Alley

On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 03:01:37 PM EDT, Walmart Customer Care wrote:

Response email (03/16/2021 02:01 PM)
Hi Lori,

Thank you again for contacting Walmart Customer Care. My name is China and I will assist you.

I'm extremely sorry for your frustrations and inconveniences that have been caused by this deactivated phone situation. I completely understand your disposition with all of this. All prepaid phones that are shipped from Walmart.com are heated/activated

before shipping. If any issues with activating a pre-paid phone, we are to refer you to the manufacturer for assistance. Since you weren't able to get assistance from the store nor the manufacturer, my next step is to escalate this to my management

team. Typically, a manager escalation resolution time is 24-72 hours. Please be advised that we may reach out per email or phone. Again, I am so sorry for this matter. I am doing everything I can to get this resolved.

If you have additional questions and/or concerns, please reply to this email and we'll be happy to assist. Thank you for being a valued Walmart Customer!

Sincerely,

China C

Walmart.com Customer Care

Customer email (03/16/2021 11:05 AM)
Hi Holly,

I attempted twice to contact the Walmart Store at 3290 Sheridan Drive Amherst, NY PH# [protected] - spoke to an Electronics Department Manager, he said there was nothing they could do. The phone only has a 14 return policy and the original On Line receipt we have is from November 19, 2020. Since we now have 2 phones that cannot be activated - I am not sure what can be done. Maybe you could have some luck by calling Jordan at the store to possibly work this out. Please have someone from Walmart On Line call the store to see what you can do. I am beyond frustration with this.

Bob Alley

On Friday, March 12, 2021, 07:16:34 PM EST, Walmart Customer Care wrote:

Response email (03/12/2021 06:16 PM)
Hi Lori,

My name is Holly and I would like to assist you with your TracFone activation. I am so sorry that you've endured so much in trying to get your phone to work the way it should! I would like to offer a suggestion that might work to get the store to scan the phone so you can use it. Please take your phone to the store and at the electronics department please tell the associate that is working there that you need them to call Walmart's Multi-channel. This way they will be able to find that I'm leaving a note about the phone's activation. My hope is that the store associate will comply with this easy request. If you have any problems at all, please reply to this email and I will get right back in touch with you to assist in any way I can.

Thank you so much for working with me on this and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend

Sincerely,

Holly K

Walmart.com Customer Care

Customer email (02/08/2021 12:49 PM)
Do you have any updated response to this situation?

Bob & Lori Alley

On Thursday, January 21, 2021, 04:12:20 AM EST, WMSTORES wrote:

Response email (01/21/2021 03:12 AM)
Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns. I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. I can understand your concerns. Your email has reached the office that handles in store issues. I want to make sure your concerns are properly addressed. I will be documenting your concerns and will forward your comments our walmart.com management team to be reviewed and addressed. You should hear something back shortly.

Thank you,
Walmart customer care

Customer email (01/19/2021 03:40 PM)
Walmart — Recent Purchase
R Robert/Lori Jan 19, 2021

I received an LG Tracphone Smart Phone as a Christmas present from my wife in December 2020. Serial# [protected] SIM# [protected] - My wife purchased phone On Line @ Walmart. Oder# [protected]. When I contacted LG to activate the phone, LG was unable to activate as the code was coming up " Unauthorized Purchase". LG told me I would have to go to a Walmart Store - have them re-scan the package Barcode, then call LG back and that would allow LG to continue with the activation. Me & my wife went to Walmart, explained that On Line Walmart Staff failed to scan the Barcode appropriately and LG will not activate the phone. The Electronics Department Manager from the Sheridan Drive Amherst, NY location said there was nothing they could do for us. We even made suggestions to return the phone and we would purchase a new LG phone or do a Purchase/Void on another LG phone that would provide us with an active authorization. Do we have any options to get this situation corrected? Please Advise, Thank You!

Robert & Lori Alley
558 Ontario Street
Buffalo NY 14207 Landline Phone # [protected]
Email: [protected]@verizon.net

Pre-Paid flip phone with approx. 2400 minutes purchased over an extended period of time for my 91 year old Mother, she told me on a visit that her phone didn't work I then went to get her a $19.99 card to reactivate phone . upon trying to enter card number I determined sim card was not supported any more . I then thought I would purchase her a new tracfone so we could utilize the saved minutes on comparable phone but the phone reported that the sim card had been out a extended period and we could not get minutes . Had I known that the minutes wouldn't transfer that we may have purchase replacement differently. We have had many tracfones for workers etc in past, I don't think my Mothers sickness, Hospital stay etc should cause her to lose minutes. Old Number [protected] New number
[protected] Thanks

While having an international call card on my phone for the last two month cannot complete calls to france?
spoken to two dozen operators about it and spent countless hours on the phone to no avail.
While i was calling regularly before with no problems.
Worthless help.
Considering changing company
not one operator had an answer but bothered me asking for my information (which is in their possession ) blaming my phone or other non relevant questions while the problem lies with their system period

I left a message here a couple of days ago to do with my wife's Tracfone data. The problem is that she rarely uses data, (internet) and some time in December 2020 her accumulated data was zeroed out. I had to purchase new data the other day to get the messaging working again.

We have always used Tracfone. The account shows that we have been with them since prior to 2013. The data has been accumulating since then, rarely being used. We're talking many gigs of data. It vanished. (I had to go purchase NEW data time.) My wife rarely does the internet with her phone. Fact. She uses her phone... as a phone. She uses her computer to surf. Still many minutes of accumulated talk time and text time. We purchase the yearly plan each year.

Not accusing TF of doing anything nefarious... only not correcting the problem. Lousy customer service ethic, in other words.

A couple of days after I posted on Complaints Board Alex reached out to me in mail...

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 17:51:54 -0500 Hi El Norm. This is Alex from TracFone Wireless. We are concerned to hear that you feel this way. We know the importance of getting this resolved, and we will be glad to look into the issue. To further check your account, chat with us at http://bit.ly/2qdrKHH or call [protected]. For your convenience, our representatives are available Monday-Sunday from 8:00 AM to 11:45 PM EST. You can also use our self-service menu by simply texting the word HELP to 611611.

Well, I reached out to Tracfone, per Alex, and I was told, yep, we had used up all the data and that was that. Thanks and goodbye. Same story as I had read on here by many others. Tracfone had no intention of rectifying the problem. The clueless support op's only suggestion was that we had used up the data and there was nothing further TF cared to do about it.

BTW... the android phone is set to do housekeeping chores ONLY when near a WiFi...in case you were wondering if that was the problem.

So, in effect, years of rollover unused data was stolen. Again, no way I believe it was nefarious... but in the end we paid for service not rendered. That's theft. Intentional or otherwise. I had hoped that by going to customer service some accommodation could be reached. There was none.

This is about the fifth or sixth time I've tried to get the problem with my replacement phone not transferring callers to my voice mail when I can't answer the phone; they get an error message saying their call cannot be completed as dialed. I've been sent to a tech specialist who couldn't solve the problem was transferred to another higher knowledgeable tech and they didn't solve the problem. My voicemail is set up and I can access it using my Alcatel A405DL phone and it's just fine; it's just when people try to leave me a message that they get the error message. I do however see who had called me in the Notice file. Two tech specialists worked the problem but still could not get calls to transfer to my voicemail.

When I'm unavailable to take a call I want people to be able leave me a voice mail; the phone mail is set up and I can access it with my TracFone.

On 11/29/20 I purchased 1000 text minutes for one of three of my phones - the wrong phone number. I did online chat with Tracfone and was told that since the transfer went through that the text minutes could not be moved to the correct account. The online representative did not offer any solution. I requested the regulator that oversees Tracfone and was given the corporate office address instead of the regulator.

I hadn't texted in weeks, instead using Hangouts to save my text balance, when one night I randomly got a message that said that I couldn't receive a text message due to insufficient minutes. I immediately went to the Tracfone widget on my android phone to see a balance of like 200 something texts. I hit refresh, and the talk minutes and data stayed the same, but the text balance now showed 0! I am positive that I didn't send or receive 200 texts in the last few days, as my most recent text was before the balance showed 200. I think Tracfone stole those texts that I paid for!

1-920 475-5141 get those dam tracphone adds constantly bothering me off my phone they are driving me nuts, I want my privacy. Stop it or lose my buisiness and everyone else I can to drop you as well... I hate those annoying adds till I want to smash my phone that's how angry I am with trac phone for doing this... And then charge minuts time for reading those dam bothersome adds I am boiling mad and I want it stopped now, now, now understand

Bought my phone just a couple of months ago. Several issues. The camera does not take good pictures, it gets bad reception and it cuts off in the middle of a conversation. Also, it will not stay charged very long. I chatted with someone at TracFone and all they wanted to do was reset my applications which would cause me to lose all my pictures.

I am an unlimited talk/text customer with auto refill on my account. Every month I am forced to call customer service because my account has problems. Customer service is unable to address the Multimedia text messaging so I am unable to send or receive text images, a service I am paying for. I purchased my device a Samsung Galaxy J Orbit directly from Tracfone. There is no excuse for the hours I have been forced to spend on the phone with customer service every month. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

My cellphone went dead that I had purchased at Wal Mart on Dec 2018. It was a Total Wireless phone for a 25.00 month card, no internet. Called Total Wireless and at first they blamed carrier. Called back after waiting 24 hours as advised to do, they blame the phone making me buy a new one. These are lies. After this phone craps out, no more lies from a TracPhone company. You get the service you pay for which is cheap, but Total Wireless s cellphones sell for in the hundreds of dollars. Cheap service and expensive cellphones do not mix! Thievies.